Lemon Meringue Buttercream Recipes

LEMON CAKE WITH LEMON MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans. Line bottoms with buttered parchment paper and dust with flour.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter and sugar for 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the lemon juice and zest and mix well.
• In another large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Alternately beat in the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, with dry ingredients at the beginning and the end. Mix until just combined.
• Pour the batter equally into the 2 pans. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the tops are browned and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a rack to cool completely.
• Buttercream: Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold an electric mixer bowl above the water. Whisk the sugar, the yolks, lemon juice, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and continue whisking until the mixture is hot to the touch and the sugar dissolves, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the bowl to a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the yolks at medium-high speed until light in texture and cool, about 10 minutes. Beat in the butter, a little at a time, until the icing is smooth and spreadable.
• To assemble: place 1 layer on a cake plate, browned side down, and spread with approximately 1/4 of the frosting. Top with the second layer, browned side up, and frost the top and sides. Decorate with raspberries.
• Click here to view Food Network Kitchen's healthier version of this recipe.

LEMONY SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• Make the filling and crumb coat: Cook egg whites and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly until sugar is completely dissolved. Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; mix on high speed until mixture is room temperature. With the mixer on medium-low, add butter, one piece at a time, mixing well after each addition.
• Remove whisk attachment and switch to paddle attachment. Increase speed to high and beat until buttercream comes together, about 5 minutes; beat in lemon extract.
• Make the frosting: In a clean saucepan and bowl of an electric mixer, repeat process in step 1.

LEMON CAKE WITH RASPBERRY SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-by-3-inch round cake pans with butter.
• In a bowl, whisk the egg whites, 1/4 cup of the buttermilk, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla until combined. Set aside.
• Combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 minute. Add the butter and the remaining 1 cup buttermilk. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened, then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add one-third of the egg white mixture, beat on low speed until blended and then on medium speed for 20 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and repeat two more times with the remaining egg white mixture.
• Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the rack and let cool completely.
• For the buttercream: Combine the egg whites and powdered sugar in a clean mixer bowl. Using the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed for 10 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and start adding the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Once all of the butter is incorporated, beat on medium speed for 10 minutes, until the buttercream comes together.
• Puree the raspberries with the granulated sugar until liquid. Press through a fine-mesh sieve. Mix the raspberry juice into the buttercream on low speed until incorporated, then beat for another 2 minutes until smooth.
• To assemble the cake: Add buttercream to each cake layer, then stack the layers. Ice the top and sides of the stacked cake with the remaining buttercream.

LEMON MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Make lemon curd:
• In a small heavy saucepan whisk together yolks and sugar and whisk in lemon juice, butter, and a pinch of salt. Cook mixture over moderately low heat, whisking, until it reaches boiling point, 5 to 7 minutes (do not let it boil). Strain curd through a fine sieve into a bowl and cool, its surface covered with a plastic wrap. Chill curd, covered at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Make buttercream:
• In a heavy saucepan combine sugar and water and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil syrup, undisturbed, until it reaches 248°F on candy thermometer. While syrup is boiling, in a standing electric mixer beat whites with a pinch salt until foamy and beat in cream of tarter. Beat whites until they just hold stiff peaks and add hot syrup in a stream, beating. Beat mixture at medium speed until completely cool, 15 to 20 minutes. Beat in butter, 1 piece at a time, and beat until it is thick and smooth. (Buttercream will at first appear very thin but as more butter is beaten in, it will thicken.) Beat in lemon curd and salt, beating until smooth, and drizzle in framboise, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating. Buttercream may be made 4 days ahead and chilled in an airtight container or 2 weeks ahead and frozen in anairtight container. Let buttercream come completely to room temperature (this may take several hours if frozen) and beat before using.

EASIEST, MOST DELICIOUS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Place the egg whites and sugar into a metal bowl and set over a pan filled with about 2 inches of simmering water. Heat, stirring frequently, until the temperature of the egg whites reaches 140 degrees. They will feel very hot to the touch.
• Transfer the heated egg whites and sugar to a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Mix at high speed (or as high as you can go without egg flying out of the bowl) until they have reached their maximum volume, 5 to 10 minutes. Mix on medium or medium-high speed while pinching off small pieces of butter and throwing them in. Mix in vanilla if using. The buttercream may look like it is breaking down, but keep on mixing and it will come back together.

LEMON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• Beat butter, lemon peel and lemon juice in medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 30 seconds. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Beat 2 to minutes longer or until light and fluffy.

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM FOR MEYER LEMON ANNIVERSARY CAKE

Steps:

• Whisk egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water until sugar has dissolved and mixture registers 160 degrees, about 4 minutes. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until cool and stiff (but not dry) peaks form, about 6 minutes.
• Fit mixer with the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low speed, add butter, several pieces at a time, mixing well after each addition (meringue will deflate slightly as butter is added). Mix until frosting comes together but is still smooth and glossy, 3 to 5 minutes. Tint with food coloring; stir until smooth.

MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Combine egg whites and sugar in a heat-safe bowl. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whip mixture until the temperature reaches 120 degrees F (49 degrees C) on a digital or instant thermometer and sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
• Remove egg white mixture from heat. Continue to whip until soft peaks form and the meringue temperature has come down to 99 degrees F (37 degrees C) or lower, 4 to 7 minutes.
• Add butter to the meringue, 2 tablespoons at a time, whipping until incorporated and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl and keep mixing until smooth, 5 to 8 minutes. Add vanilla extract and whip until incorporated.

ITALIAN MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• In a small heavy saucepan, combine 3/4 cups sugar sugar and water. Bring to a boil; cook over medium-high heat until a thermometer reads 250° (hard-ball stage), 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, using a stand mixer, beat egg whites in a large bowl on high speed until foamy. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved and soft peaks form. , Slowly pour hot sugar syrup over egg whites while beating continuously. Continue beating on high until mixture cools to room temperature, 15 to 20 minutes., Gradually add butter, a few tablespoons at a time, beating on medium after each addition until smooth. Beat in vanilla.

ITALIAN MERINGUE BUTTER CREAM

Steps:

• Boil 1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water over medium heat until it reaches 245o F or the firm ball stage. Never leave the kitchen when you are cooking sugar, and be stingy with your time spent away from the stovetop. It is very important that you watch it or it may burn. Another thing to do is to swirl the syrup. Don't stir it or whisk it, just gently swirl the pan by the handle to ensure that the sugar crystals are evenly distributed and dissolved
• While the sugar is cooking, pour the egg whites into the bowl you plan to whip the icing in, then wait for the syrup to come to about 230F-235F. Whip egg whites with a wire whisk in a stand up mixer on high until soft peaks form. About 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle in 1/4 cup sugar. Beat
• Slowly pour the hot syrup into the meringue steadily with the mixer still on high.
• Beat the frosting for 7-10 minutes until the outside of the bowl is room temperature
• During this time fill the pot the syrup cooked in with water and bring it to a boil to remove the hardened sugar from the sides. Toss in the candy thermometer too, while you're at it
• Beat in butter by the tablespoon using a medium speed. The butter will deflate the frosting a bit. After all of the butter is added, turn the speed up to high. The whole process will take about 10-15 minutes, but you will begin to see the buttercream go through stages after all of the butter is added. First it will deflate and become soupy, then thicken, then curdle, then thicken to the final stage. If, for some reason your buttercream does not progress from the "soupy" stage (typically due to adding the butter too quickly or the butter/meringue being too warm), simply place your work bowl in the fridge for 7-10 minutes before whipping again
• Add in desired flavourings Flavourings • Chocolate: 1/2 cup melted and cooled chocolate and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. • Coconut: 1 teaspoon coconut extract and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. • Coffee: 1 teaspoon espresso powder or 3-5 tablespoons strong coffee. • Also use jams to flavour buttercream, but be sure that they are quite thick as too much liquid will cause the buttercream to break down so be careful when adding jams and drop in about a tablespoon at a time
• Leftover buttercream may be kept in the refrigerator for a week or two or frozen, well wrapped, until needed. Just be sure to bring it to room temperature and whip well with a beater before using